Sunday, March 13, 2016

Susan’s posts (here and here )about 1770s hair care sent me to my beloved The Lady’s Stratagem by Frances Grimble.* to see how much had changed (or not) in the 1820s-1830s, the setting for my books.

For those fluent in French, the text from the original, Elisabeth Celnart's Manuel des dames (published between 1827-1833), is here. Those, like me, who aren’t fluent, will be grateful for Ms. Grimble’s translation. You will note that, as Isabella pointed out, clean doesn’t necessarily mean what a modern reader thinks it means. Recipes abound for oils and pomatums. Shampoo? Not so much. It’s more or less a last resort, as you’ll see.

“Your principal task must be to keep your hair extremely clean. Every morning, before arranging your hair, disentangle it with a large comb, holding it upright in a straight line in order not to break the hairs...When your hair has been well cleansed*...rub it with a square brush with a handle, whose bristles are very soft, or better yet are replaced with fine rice roots...

“When night comes, very gently undo your coiffure, first removing all the black pins which you find there, and shaking out the locks as you let them down. These steps are especially necessary when your hair has been dressed by a hair-dresser.”
After this the lady is urged to comb her hair well and plait it. Unplaited hair becomes damaged. It also easily escapes one’s night cap and soils the pillow.

“When by nature, or by the prolonged or exaggerated use of oils and pomatums, your hair is greasy to the point of being dull, dense, and flat, you must resort to soap solutions. Pour a demi-tasse of lukewarm water into a saucer. Soak a very lightly-perfumed toilet-soap in the water for a few moments, and stir it a little. Soon the water will be foamy. Then spread the locks of your hair well apart, and with a sponge dampened with the soapy water, wash them well from all sides.”

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comments:

Just discovered this blog and love it! Considering the multi million pound nature of the hair industry today it's hard to imagine the recommendation that blond hair should be washed very rarely. Great stuff!

A demi-tasse is a cup much smaller than a standard tea cup. Think expresso cup. So maybe a couple of tablespoons of water. As someone with long hair, it makes me shudder to think how filthy my hair would be if I had lived before shampoo. Of course, everyone and everything else would be equally icky, so I wouldn't care.

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A Polite Explanation

There’s a big difference in how we use history. But we’re equally nuts about it. To us, the everyday details of life in the past are things to talk about, ponder, make fun of -- much in the way normal people talk about their favorite reality show.

We talk about who’s wearing what and who’s sleeping with whom. We try to sort out rumor or myth from fact. We thought there must be at least three other people out there who think history’s fascinating and fun, too. This blog is for them.